Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-01-07
THE SCULPTOR AT WORK.
FACTS NOT GENERALLY KNOWN
ABOUT sTATUE-MAK1NG.
Chiseling and Hewing Ont the
Figure From Solid Marble-The
"Statuary's" Work.

Chiseling and HewinR Out the
Figure From Solid Marble-The
"Statuary's" Work.
Several great sculptors, Michael An
gelo among them, have occasionally hewn
their statues straight out of the block of
marble, without going through the pre-
iminary courses Of modelling in clay and
casting in plaster. But this is rarely
done, for, in the first place, the work
would be too long for any artist who has
a regard for his time, and, in the second,
the hewing of the marble demands a
special practical experience which makes
it an art apart. A sculptor would
probably spoil a hundred blocks
of marble before making as much
as a statuette foot high were
he to trust only himself in the
matter. Even Michael Angelo, when
he tried to dispense with the 'statuary"
or practitioner" succeeded only in
making fragments of figures. Not being
an adept in Judging of the size of the
block he needed, he was constantly find
ing that he had miscalculated, and that
an arm, leg, or head must remain UNI
finished in consequence. The "statuary,"
who is often an artist of great merit, and
possessed of as much talent in his way
as the sculptor in his, sets the plaster
model on platform, measures it, and
places it side by side with a block of
marble of the requisite heighth and
breadth. This done, he applies to the
model an instrument of mathematical
precision, by which he obtains the de.
tailed measure of every part and angle of
the statue. He then returns to the mar
BILE, and roughly sketches ON the outside
of it, by means of points, a sort of out
line of the figure or group. Upon each
of the spots were he has marked a point
with his pencil, workman bores hole
with an awl, taking great care, however,
not to bore a fraction of an inch deeper
than he is told. When the ''statuary"
has inspected all the sides of the block,
and when the holes have all been bored
according to his directions, the marble
looks as though it had been riddled with
bullets.
A second workman then appears with
O chisel and hammer to hew away the
fragments of marble between the differ
ent holes and along the pencil lines
drawn as guide marks. This work is
more or less easy, as the attitude of the
statue is simple and fanciful. If the fig
ure be one of a modern parsonage stand
ing placidly with his arms by his sides,
attired in the clothes of our day and with
nothing eccentric in the position of his
legs, the task offers no difficulties and
may be intrusted to very ordinary
workman. But if the subject be a group
or a figure of an attitude, for instance,
like that of Ajax Defying the Light
ning,n the chisel cannot be intrusted to
any but practiced hand, and every
blow of the hammer must be struck with
the greatest precaution. The appearance
presented by the marble when the pre-.
paratory hewing has ended is that of
some person or persons thickly wrapped
up in a shrond. The outlines of head
and body can be vaguely detected under
the white covering, but nothing more.
And it is not until the "statuary" him
self has set to work with his finer chisel
and more delicate hand that tangible
form begins to emerge from the hard
mass. First the head, then the shout.
ders and trunk, then the legs, and then
the arms and hands appear. The arms
and hands, if outstretched. are reserved
to the last; if detached first from the
block the oscillations caused by the
chisel in hewing the other parts of the
marble might shake and crack them.
This is very necessary precaution, and
it is even usual to keep the arms, the
fingers, and other projecting parts Of
marble statues continually supported By
props of wood until the moment wher
the work is set upon its pedestal and un
covered.
When the statue is handed over to the
sculptor so that he may give the tina
touches to it, there sometimes remains
scarcely anything for him to do. This
is the case when the "statuary" is him.
self filst-class artist and can trust him
self to initiate to nicely the slightest
details OF form and expression in the
plaster model But such examples are
rare, less because of the incapacity of
the tstatuaries' than by reason of thu
natural desire which every artist has t.
terminate in person the work he has con
ceived and begun. The statue is usually
returned to the sculptor in half fin
ished state, the fine touches, which will
constitute the special beauty of thu
work, yet remaining to be done. Tit
most delicate of tools are then employed
slender chisels with the finest points
toy hammers of scarcely any weight, lit
tie graters that fit on, something lik'
thimbles, to the top of the foretinger
And to polish the marble and smooth it
channels leather, sandpaper, sponge
STEPPED in oil, and the palm of the hanC
are used, the amount of care needed TO
the correct modelling of the limbs anC
muscles is uncomfortable. Works like
'Laocoon," the "Dying Gladiator" anC
the "Apolo Belvedere must have cos
the makers more trouble and anxiety
than any sum of money could repay
Neao York Star.
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